Melissa Butler
At a special meeting on September 29, the South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education appointed two administrators, helping to fill two more spots after a spate of retirements and resignations among administrators at the end of the 2015-16 school year.
The new appointees are:
Melissa Butler, Interim K-12 Supervisor of English Language Arts — Butler holds a BA in English Writing and Elementary Education from SUNY Potsdam, an MS.Ed. in Special Education from Hofstra University, and an MA.Ed. in Educational Leadership from Montclair State University. Butler has been a staff member in the South Orange-Maplewood School District since September 2005. Since the summer of 2013, she has worked for the Reading and Writing Project at Columbia Teachers College and has facilitated staff development for teachers and administrators around the county using the methodology of reading and writing workshop. Butler has received a number of awards and distinctions including being recognized as the 2014 Bammy Winner which is a national award for Middle School Teacher of the Year. Her present work focuses on the revolution and promotion of rigorous learning aligned with the State Standards, the Reading and Writing Project methodology, and the National Educational Technology Standards. She integrates social media and web 2.0 technology in her classroom as tools to engage students, so is well positioned to support the use of technology in ELA classrooms across the district. (The ELA Supervisor was vacated by Janine Gregory, who resigned to take a position in another district.)
Dion Patterson
Dion Patterson, Assistant Principal, Maplewood Middle School — Patterson received his BA in English from Morehouse College, GA and his MS in Reading & Literacy and second MS in Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment both from Walden University, MN. Most recently, Patterson served as Vice Principal and Supervisor of Community Programs at Piscataway Township Schools, Piscataway, NJ. Prior to his appointment as Vice Principal in Piscataway, Patterson served as Middle School Teacher/Coach/Lead District Evaluator/Apprentice School Leader in East Orange STEM Academy, and as a Middle School Teacher in the East Orange School District. Patterson is expected to start on November 30, 2016. (In the interim, retired Columbia High School Assistant Principal Michael Healy is filling the Assistant Principal position vacated by Marc Gold.)
Related articles:
South Orange-Maplewood Approves 4 New School District Administrators
Why All the Administrative Churn in South Orange-Maplewood District?
